CONCERNS have been raised about the state of a Bury street which has been hit by vandalism and fly-tipping.

Residents in Ferngrove, in the Free Town area, are angry about damage to a wall and uncleared waste. And one resident claims taxi drivers park up in the street to urinate next to an electrical substation.

Kathyrn Taylor, who has lived in Inglewood Close, which is only accessible via Ferngrove, since 1998, said that although there have been one or two problems over the years there had been “nothing major”.

However, she is worried that the stretch is “becoming a real problem area.” Mrs Taylor said: “Recently I have seen a steady decline which started when the coping stones on the estate wall were removed and stolen. Bit by bit the wall was further vandalised, the stone blocks that make up the wall were pulled off and also stolen.”

In 2016, Mrs Taylor contacted Bury Council about the wall which was then assessed and barriers were erected around the area. Mrs Taylor said: “These barriers didn’t last long, they were knocked over and possibly stolen too. Bury Council then told me that they could only do something if it was dangerous and they decided it wasn’t.”

Later in 2016, Mrs Taylor contacted the building firm who constructed the housing estate around Ferngrove, Morris Homes, about the issue, who told her they were prepared to rebuild the wall.

However, since that date, despite remaining in contact with Morris Homes, Mrs Taylor says there has been no change. She said: “I was told structural engineers were coming out to look at the wall, they had sent the job out to tender, they had received the quotes and just needed approval from the director. I contacted them sending photographs on several occasions to say that the wall and surrounding area was deteriorating, which meant that the original job would end up costing them much more, to no avail.” More recently, however, Mrs Taylor has also highlighted incidences of fly-tipping and of taxi drivers urinating in broad day light. These further problems have been reported to Bury Council and the police. Mrs Taylor said: “I have had replies from the council. They have been very good. I reported an instance where a taxi driver urinated on the street. They said they would keep an eye on it. Bury Police also said that their PCSOs would keep an eye on the place. I had an email back from Morris Housing to say they will get back to see if the director could fix the wall. It is getting worse. It is such a shame to see this area gradually deteriorate.”

Electricity North West who manage the power substation in Ferngrove have apologised for any inconvenience caused to Mrs Taylor and her family, and say that an operative will visit the substation.

Morris Homes told Mrs Taylor that since being contacted by her they have “escalated” wall repairs which are being “expedited”.

Bury Council has been approached for a comment.